Historians often use primary sources to study the past. These are from the time period being studied, including first person accounts. This assignment will help you assess the value of using a variety of sources (i.e. historical sites, historical artifacts, oral histories, and written documents) to better understand the past its historical context.

Your Journey

Choose an event or time period in Hawai'i's history (before 1990) that will allow you to visit a historical site (or examine related historical objects), listen to an individual's oral history (or read first person accounts in letters, diaries or memoirs), and examine primary sources (i.e. official documents, newspapers, photographs).

Some possibilities might include: the visit of Alexander
Liholiho, Lota Kapuaiwa and Dr. Judd to the U.S., England & France in 1850; King Kalakaua's world tour in 1881; Queen Kapi'olani's visit to Kalaupapa in 1884 or her trip to the U.S. and England in 1887; the imprisonment or trial of Queen Lili'uokalani in 1895; the Chinatown fire of 1900; the Massie case of the 1930s; Filipino immigration experience; sugar plantation life in the 1880s; the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941; living under Martial Law during World War II; the experience of the 442nd Infantry Regiment; the Honuliuli Internment camp; or the growth of tourism in the 1960s. This list is not exhaustive, feel free to choose a research topic of interest to you, especially if you have access to a person who can share his/her experience and/or a place that is relevant to your topic.

Do some preliminary research on your chosen topic using secondary sources (i.e. general history books, websites, videos) and a vist to the library to see what's available. Keep track of your sources for your annotated bibliography.

Visit a place that is relevant to your topic. For example, if you're interested in immigration or sugar plantation life, you could visit Hawaii's Plantation Village in Waipahu. If you're interested in Kalakaua, Kapi'olani or Lili'uokalani, you could visit 'Iolani Palace. Alternatively, you may want to think about a place you'd like to visit, then determine what part of that site's history you'd like to focus your research. By the time you submit your Part I, you should have made your site visit.

Interview someone who remembers the event or time period you're researching. Alternatively, you could use transcripts or video recordings of oral histories done by others, or you may read first person accounts (i.e. letters, diaries, journals, memoirs). By the time you submit your Part II, you should have completed your interview, read a transcript/viewed a video of an oral history, or read a first person account.

Do more in-depth research using books and scholarly articles that are specifically about your event or time period and by examining at least one primary source document relavent to your topic. Consider how this additional research helps to place an individual's story into the larger historical context of the event or time period. Keep track of your sources for your annotated bibliography.

Choose one of the three options provided for Part III to present what you've learned about the event or time period. Be sure to incorporate information gleaned from research, along with elements learned from your visit to the historical site and from an individual's perspective.

Citing Historical Sources

During your research journey be sure to keep track of all your sources. For Part I, include evidence (i.e. photo, receipt, ticket) of a place visited and the date you visited. For Part II, include the name of the person and the date interviewed, or the transcript/video information, or identify the source for your first person account. For Part III, you will submit an
annotated bibliography, which means, in addition to the typical MLA bibliographical
citation (i.e. author, title, city, publisher, year), you need to also provide a
brief explanation on how each source helped you.I am interested in all the sources that you’ve consulted for
all three parts (i.e. books, articles, videos, internet sites, historical
sites, interviews).

Three Part Writing Process (worth 150 points total)

Part I (25 points)This will be an exploratory paper where you explore your thoughts about your site visit. Explain why you chose
this historical site and how it helps you understand the event or time period you've chosen to research. Before visiting the site, do some preliminary research. Did you learn anything interesting or unexpected on your site visit that you didn't already know from your preliminary research? This first paper is like a diary
entry where you're "talking to self."I'm looking for insight into your thought process, and a
narrative of your journey so far.Don't worry about grammar, spelling, and organization for this
part.Format:one side of a page, single spaced, one
inch margins, 300-500 words.* Please use the last four digits of your UH identification number, rather than your name, to identify your paper. Provide proof of your site visit on a separate sheet of paper with your name on it. Late papers will not be accepted. Due: Thursday, February 13th

Part II (50 points)This
will be a letter to the teacher explaining where you are in the research process and what you plan to do for Part III. You should discuss some of the information you've uncovered through research and how it compares to an individual's personal story. Do you value one more than the other, and if so, why? Ask for feedback on the path you have
taken, and solicit advice for the journey ahead.Share any fascinating and unexpected discoveries.Try to identify
anything that would make the research meaningful to you. Since this is a letter, you may use first person references
(i.e. I, me, my).You will be
graded on organization, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.Format:double spaced, one inch margins, 500-750 words.*Please use the last four digits of your UH identification number, rather than your name, to identify your paper. Late papers will not be accepted.Due: Thursday, March 20th

Part III (worth 75 points) Write an essay, a
dialogue, or a vignette.In this final paper you will
demonstrate a deeper historical understanding about your chosen research topic. You will incorporate a variety of sources, including your site visit, an individual's perspective, and a primary source document.

oIf you
choose to write an essay,
you will develop a thesis and support it in a typical research paper
format.Imagine that you’re
writing for a scholarly journal and the theme for that edition is:Why Written Records?You will develop a thesis statement,
then support it with data uncovered through research.

oIf you
choose to write a dialogue,
you will need to identify at least two people who will have an imagined conversation
(one being a person connected to your research).It will read much like a script for a play, or a transcript of
an interview.Imagine that your
written dialogue will be performed as a live play at a high school
or middle school.The curriculum
objective is to have students appreciate the value of an individual's story when remembering past events.

oIf you
choose to write a vignette,
you will be telling a story.You
could describe behaviors, thoughts, and events from an historical character's
perspective.This format also provides
the option of a narrator's voice (i.e. someone telling the story, but not
necessarily involved in it).Imagine that your vignette will be published in one of KCC’s student
journals and you want your audience to see the value of visiting historical sites or preserving historical records and artifacts.

Organization,
grammar, spelling and punctuation will be graded in this third part.You must also resubmit your graded
Parts I & II, and provide an annotated bibliography (all in a non-plastic
folder).Format:double spaced, one inch margins,
800-1000 words,although it is understood that the
dialogue or vignette may be substantially longer for scene setting reasons.* Late papers will be accepted, but there will be a
five-point penalty for each class day that a paper is late.Due: Thursday, May 1st

*Please identify the font
& provide a word count at the end of each part.